Huddersfield Town will welcome centre back Christopher Schindler back to the squad this weekend after the German completed a one-match suspension last week.

Schindler, 27, was sent off in Town's home match against West Bromwich Albion after receiving two yellow cards, meaning he was unable to pull on the blue and white stripes when the Terriers visited Bournemouth last time out.

And the defensive rock's absence told on the south coast.

Town conceded four as Callum Wilson grabbed a hat trick, with his first two strikes coming through poorly-defended set pieces.

But with Schindler back in the side, Town will be hoping the German can marshal the backline more effectively and help to keep out Pep Guardiola's free-scoring Manchester City.

In the three matches he's missed since joining Town for a then-record fee of £1.8m in July 2016, the Terriers have conceded six goals - four of which have come from dead-ball situations.

Town are averaging two goals conceded per match without the talismanic defender, while they concede just 1.25 per game when he is on the pitch.

And his importance to the Terriers' team is highlighted in the numbers he has racked up this season.

Schindler frequently breaks into the top 10 Premier League defenders for defensive statistics, with the former 1860 Munich man joint fifth for number of clearances in the league (88), sixth for amount of interceptions (25) and seventh for number of successful tackles (35).

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Add to that he is 16th in the blocking charts (9) and has only been dispossessed once in 11 appearances and you can see why Town fans voted Schindler as their best player so far this season in the last international break, with an average rating of 7.5/10.

And his strong performances this season, coupled with his crucial role in Town's promotion campaign, have seen him earn praise from within and outside the West Yorkshire club.

After Town's goalless draw with Burnley in September, head coach David Wagner described him as "outstanding".

He said: "For me, it's not a surprise what he has shown in the first six games because I have seen it all last season when he played very well.

"He's becoming more in focus and more people are recognising what a great centre-back he is.

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"I am just happy how he has adapted, happy we have him, happy he's such a calm character and happy we don't have to worry that he won't carry on and keep his feet on the ground."

One of those people who has taken notice of Wagner is former head of scouting at Leicester City and head of player identification at Tottenham Hotspur Rob Mackenzie.

In a column written for Sky Sports, he suggested the Town man could be on a number of Premier League sides' scouting lists.

He wrote: "I have seen Schindler play against a variety of different opponents so far this season, all of whom pose significantly different challenges. For starters, his mobility and ability to step in and nick the ball away from opponents helped keep quiet the athleticism and goalscoring instincts of Romelu Lukaku in Huddersfield's famous 2-1 win over Manchester United.

"He also played his part in keeping a clean sheet against the physicality of Christian Benteke in Huddersfield's opening day victory. His fine reading of the game dealt with the pace of Leicester's Jamie Vardy in September and after a nervy start against Andy Carroll, he settled excellently to limit the big striker's effectiveness even though West Ham won the game.

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"Schindler personifies a much-sought-after quality for scouts: adaptability. He has adapted to life in England and his mix of qualities - skill, mobility, competitiveness, bravery and awareness - have allowed him to respond to many in-game challenges expertly. Christopher Schindler should now be a name that is on most Premier League teams' scouting list."

Judging by his ease of transition into English football, that could well be true, but for now Town will just be happy to have their standout performer back for the visit of Man City this Sunday.